NOTES

1.

Examples of research in history education confirming this principle include Shemilt (1980) and Lee and Ashby (2000, 2001). Experience with a series of curriculum changes (the Schools History Project, the Cambridge History Project, and, more recently, the National Curriculum for History) and public assessment of students’ work in the United Kingdom have provided additional confirmatory evidence.

2.

We would like to thank the students and teachers in schools in Essex and Kent in England, and in Oakland (California) in the United States who took part in trials of the two tasks presented in this chapter. All names in the text are pseudonyms, and U.K. “year groups” have been converted into U.S. “grade” equivalents; for example, U.K. year 7 pupils are given as grade 6. While this is only an approximate equivalence, research (e.g. Barton, 1996; VanSledright, 2002, pp. 59-66) offers examples of ideas very similar to those found in the United Kingdom, and responses to the second task in the two countries suggest that differences between education systems do not invalidate the approximation.

3.

Lee and Ashby, 2000.

4.

For research on student ideas about evidence, see Shemilt (1980, 1987) and Lee et al. (1996).

5.

Todd and Curtis, 1982.

6.

Jordan et al., 1985.

7.

Wineburg, 2001.

8.

Dickinson and Lee, 1984; Ashby and Lee, 1987.

9.

Shemilt, 1978.

10.

Shemilt, 1980, 1987; Lee et al., 1996.

11.

VanSledright, 2002.

12.

Leinhardt, 1994.

13.

The teaching material was inspired by and is indebted to Tim Severin’s book describing his “Brendan Voyage.”

14.

Leinhardt, 1994.

15.

Seixas, 1993, 1994.

16.

Barton, 1996.

17.

Shemilt, 1980.

REFERENCES

Ashby, R, and Lee, P.J. (1987). Children’s concepts of empathy and understanding in history. In C. Portal (Ed.), The history curriculum for teachers (pp. 62-88). London, England: Falmer Press.